AC Drain hose location?

[marshall87]

Can anyone possibly post a picture of the location? I was able to find 2 little nipples on the passenger side of the engine bay, maybe an inch in length each. I'm not too sure which is which though. From other threads people have said the drains should be in the shape of a right angle, so I'm not sure if I'm missing this or what..

I'm constantly hearing water rushing around from what sounds like the under portion of the dash. It only happens when I give the car throttle and in motion. Even in neutral with some throttle I hear it! I'd like to try to get this thing unclogged before my floor panels start taking a bath. lol

EDIT: May have found my answer. Might be low coolant or air in the system. Will try to top it off and bleed the air out and see what happens.

 

[BamaDrewski]

Can anyone possibly post a picture of the location? I was able to find 2 little nipples on the passenger side of the engine bay, maybe an inch in length each. I'm not too sure which is which though. From other threads people have said the drains should be in the shape of a right angle, so I'm not sure if I'm missing this or what..

I'm constantly hearing water rushing around from what sounds like the under portion of the dash. It only happens when I give the car throttle and in motion. Even in neutral with some throttle I hear it! I'd like to try to get this thing unclogged before my floor panels start taking a bath. lol

EDIT: May have found my answer. Might be low coolant or air in the system. Will try to top it off and bleed the air out and see what happens.

The drain for the ac evaporator core is directly behind the glovebox in the firewall of your rig. It is an L shape little rubber piece and it points down. Mine is a 2000 T4R LTD 4WD but I doubt it is different on the 3rd gen despite the year.

I did a full AC system rebuild on my rig and at that time, I pulled the evaporator core housing and opened it up. There was a BUNCH of debris in there after 14 years. I washed the housing in the dishwasher and put in a new evaporator core. It only takes about 30 minutes to get it out of the dash and it could be you have debris that is blocking the drain in the core housing. Cleaning it out would not only address that, but would also let you see what kind of shape the evaporator core is in. Just a suggestion....

 

[gamefreakgc]

That's air passing through your heater core, not the A/C drain. But it looks like you got that figured out. After filling it up as needed, burping the coolant system is best done on an incline like a hill or sloped driveway facing up. Take off the cap (cold engine please!) and then blast your heater and wait for the coolant to warm up. You should see small air bubbles (or large) start to pass into the radiator if there was air trapped.

If you coolant system is very corroded, you may never get it all out. My heater core in my last Toyota was corroded so air always was trapped in it. Never did get it all out and just got used to the "swish" sound every time I turned on the heater.

 

[97Run-Man]

The drain for the ac evaporator core is directly behind the glovebox in the firewall of your rig. It is an L shape little rubber piece and it points down. Mine is a 2000 T4R LTD 4WD but I doubt it is different on the 3rd gen despite the year.

I did a full AC system rebuild on my rig and at that time, I pulled the evaporator core housing and opened it up. There was a BUNCH of debris in there after 14 years. I washed the housing in the dishwasher and put in a new evaporator core. It only takes about 30 minutes to get it out of the dash and it could be you have debris that is blocking the drain in the core housing. Cleaning it out would not only address that, but would also let you see what kind of shape the evaporator core is in. Just a suggestion....

Could this be the cause of water on the floor of the passenger side? Every so often I notice the floor board gets damp and I have zero idea where it comes from. I thought it was the drains in the sunroof.

 

[BamaDrewski]

Could this be the cause of water on the floor of the passenger side? Every so often I notice the floor board gets damp and I have zero idea where it comes from. I thought it was the drains in the sunroof.

This could definitely be the cause. If you ever notice how much water your AC drips outside the vehicle on a hot day, then if the drain is plugged, this is the amount of water coming into your passenger side. It could also be the sunroof drains as well.

If you are sure it is water (has no smell) and it is not colored (like coolant) this could be the culprit. I am OCD on preventative maintenance and I like to learn as well. Taking out the evaporator housing and core taught me a lot. It also gave me a chance to see how much JUNK can get into the housing over the years. This debris can rot and mold and leave a funky a$$ smell in your system.

Like I mentioned, when I broke my case open, I washed it in the dishwasher and it came out looking like new. (Also makes it much easier to drain...LOL)

Pull your evaporator case and crack her open. Clean it out and check the evaporator core and expansion valve while you are in there. It is worth the 30 minutes to do it. If nothing else - cleaner air!!!!

What year is your rig? LTD? 3.4L?

 

[97Run-Man]

This could definitely be the cause. If you ever notice how much water your AC drips outside the vehicle on a hot day, then if the drain is plugged, this is the amount of water coming into your passenger side. It could also be the sunroof drains as well.

If you are sure it is water (has no smell) and it is not colored (like coolant) this could be the culprit. I am OCD on preventative maintenance and I like to learn as well. Taking out the evaporator housing and core taught me a lot. It also gave me a chance to see how much JUNK can get into the housing over the years. This debris can rot and mold and leave a funky a$$ smell in your system.

Like I mentioned, when I broke my case open, I washed it in the dishwasher and it came out looking like new. (Also makes it much easier to drain...LOL)

Pull your evaporator case and crack her open. Clean it out and check the evaporator core and expansion valve while you are in there. It is worth the 30 minutes to do it. If nothing else - cleaner air!!!!

What year is your rig? LTD? 3.4L?

'01 SR5 Do you have a write up on this? I am all for cleaning it out. Won't happen till spring but I can start looking at it now.
As far as I have been able to tell it does not stain the carpet, it doesn't smell sweet, and it almost smells moldy. If I don't have the mat down it doesn't happen either.

 

[OldManKamps]

The drain for the ac evaporator core is directly behind the glovebox in the firewall of your rig. It is an L shape little rubber piece and it points down. Mine is a 2000 T4R LTD 4WD but I doubt it is different on the 3rd gen despite the year.

I did a full AC system rebuild on my rig and at that time, I pulled the evaporator core housing and opened it up. There was a BUNCH of debris in there after 14 years. I washed the housing in the dishwasher and put in a new evaporator core. It only takes about 30 minutes to get it out of the dash and it could be you have debris that is blocking the drain in the core housing. Cleaning it out would not only address that, but would also let you see what kind of shape the evaporator core is in. Just a suggestion....

Hey, I'd love some advice from you! The previous owner of my truck was an absolute idiot. Like i can't describe it. Ie. Cutting the abs wires in the front to disable it. Another genius move by him was fixing the evaporator in the cooling unit. Instead of disassembling it, he broke open the front half of the cooling unit and pulled it out that way, leaving the amplifier chip thing and blower resistor hanging down.... Now I am planning on replacing that entire unit as its broken now. How easy is it to pull the whole unit out and put a new one in? I am a little wary of taking the whole dash apart! Also, on the big line coming through the firewall. There is a little threaded hole on the top, I'm not sure what this could be for..
Thank you!

 

[BamaDrewski]

Hey, I'd love some advice from you! The previous owner of my truck was an absolute idiot. Like i can't describe it. Ie. Cutting the abs wires in the front to disable it. Another genius move by him was fixing the evaporator in the cooling unit. Instead of disassembling it, he broke open the front half of the cooling unit and pulled it out that way, leaving the amplifier chip thing and blower resistor hanging down.... Now I am planning on replacing that entire unit as its broken now. How easy is it to pull the whole unit out and put a new one in? I am a little wary of taking the whole dash apart! Also, on the big line coming through the firewall. There is a little threaded hole on the top, I'm not sure what this could be for..
Thank you!

Guys - I think my previous post in the complete DIY AC rebuild will help you with pulling the evaporator case. it is actually very, very easy to do:

See here: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...-replacement-2000-toyota-4runner-limited.html

If you have any specific questions, PM me and I will get to them as quickly as I can.

 

[BamaDrewski]

Hey, I'd love some advice from you! The previous owner of my truck was an absolute idiot. Like i can't describe it. Ie. Cutting the abs wires in the front to disable it. Another genius move by him was fixing the evaporator in the cooling unit. Instead of disassembling it, he broke open the front half of the cooling unit and pulled it out that way, leaving the amplifier chip thing and blower resistor hanging down.... Now I am planning on replacing that entire unit as its broken now. How easy is it to pull the whole unit out and put a new one in? I am a little wary of taking the whole dash apart! Also, on the big line coming through the firewall. There is a little threaded hole on the top, I'm not sure what this could be for..
Thank you!

Try this: It is part of my DIY post on a complete AC rebuild (http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...-replacement-2000-toyota-4runner-limited.html)

1. Disconnect the liquid line and the discharge line under the hood on the passenger firewall. WARNING: The liquid line has a special connector. I found it was easy to remove with a very small jewelers screw driver when pushing down the tabs from the top.
2. Just remove the glove box, the horizontal support for the glove box (4 bolts)
3. Take out the top of the glove box and disconnect the wiring that is attached to the top.
4. Remove the plastic air vent tube running horizontally behind the glove box (Just pops out – no screws)
5. Disconnect the wiring to the cooling unit (box holding the evaporator)
6. Tuck the cooling unit harnesses out of the way.
7. Remove 4 bolts holding the cooling unit onto the body.
8. Pull the unit down a little and pull out. (Be careful here because as you pull the unit out, the evaporator drain and grommet in the firewall will probably fall out and land under the truck)
9. The cooling unit box has three clips on the side (they pop off) and then 3 screws holding it together.
10. Remove the clips and screws.
11. The unit comes apart revealing the evaporator core and expansion valve. (The evaporator box was really nasty and the evaporator was on its last leg. I cleaned the box with a vacuum and then washed it in the dishwasher and it looks like new)

 

[OldManKamps]

Thank you so much!

 

[BamaDrewski]

'01 SR5 Do you have a write up on this? I am all for cleaning it out. Won't happen till spring but I can start looking at it now.
As far as I have been able to tell it does not stain the carpet, it doesn't smell sweet, and it almost smells moldy. If I don't have the mat down it doesn't happen either.

If it does smell musty, moldy or stagnant, it is most likely your evaporator case which has a plugged drain hose due to debris. The water your evaporator usually dispels through the drain is accumulating in the case itself and the case is not designed to hold water like an aquarium. It is designed to drain as the water accumulates. Again, this is not a big deal to pull the case and clean it. However, KEEP IN MIND, when you do this, you are disconnecting the coolant lines from the evaporator and will have to have the system vacuumed down and recharged.

 

[BamaDrewski]

If it does smell musty, moldy or stagnant, it is most likely your evaporator case which has a plugged drain hose due to debris. The water your evaporator usually dispels through the drain is accumulating in the case itself and the case is not designed to hold water like an aquarium. It is designed to drain as the water accumulates. Again, this is not a big deal to pull the case and clean it. However, KEEP IN MIND, when you do this, you are disconnecting the coolant lines from the evaporator and will have to have the system vacuumed down and recharged.

ONE LAST THOUGHT: Winter is probably a good time to do AC work. Even though your defroster works the compressor and cooling system in the winter, you probably don't use the AC as much...thus a good time to take it apart, clean/repair. Just a thought......

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

ONE LAST THOUGHT: Winter is probably a good time to do AC work. Even though your defroster works the compressor and cooling system in the winter, you probably don't use the AC as much...thus a good time to take it apart, clean/repair. Just a thought......

Is it possible to do this without disconnecting the AC lines and losing refrigerant? Like just take one side of the case off or something while it's in place?

 

[BamaDrewski]

Is it possible to do this without disconnecting the AC lines and losing refrigerant? Like just take one side of the case off or something while it's in place?

I seriously doubt that would be possible. The cooling unit (evaporator case) is designed to be removed from the system. However, you might give it a shot.....but don't say I did not warn you

 

[Sawgunner]

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/210509-name-tube-right.html

 

[97Run-Man]

ONE LAST THOUGHT: Winter is probably a good time to do AC work. Even though your defroster works the compressor and cooling system in the winter, you probably don't use the AC as much...thus a good time to take it apart, clean/repair. Just a thought......

You are right about not needing it, but with it being bitterly cold currently and my lack of a garage to work in I would rather wait for the first signs of spring when I will be able to use my hands and just roll the windows down to stay cool. However this is book marked for me to do as soon as I can.

Thank you for all the advice and insight.

 

[marshall87]

The drain for the ac evaporator core is directly behind the glovebox in the firewall of your rig. It is an L shape little rubber piece and it points down. Mine is a 2000 T4R LTD 4WD but I doubt it is different on the 3rd gen despite the year.

I did a full AC system rebuild on my rig and at that time, I pulled the evaporator core housing and opened it up. There was a BUNCH of debris in there after 14 years. I washed the housing in the dishwasher and put in a new evaporator core. It only takes about 30 minutes to get it out of the dash and it could be you have debris that is blocking the drain in the core housing. Cleaning it out would not only address that, but would also let you see what kind of shape the evaporator core is in. Just a suggestion....

For the sake of knowing it's not blocked and just cleaning the debris, I'm actually gonna tackle that job this weekend. How involved is this? I'm guessing maybe just the glove box has to come out correct? I also checked for that L shaped drain and didn't see anything. I'll have to look again. Thanks man.

That's air passing through your heater core, not the A/C drain. But it looks like you got that figured out. After filling it up as needed, burping the coolant system is best done on an incline like a hill or sloped driveway facing up. Take off the cap (cold engine please!) and then blast your heater and wait for the coolant to warm up. You should see small air bubbles (or large) start to pass into the radiator if there was air trapped.

If you coolant system is very corroded, you may never get it all out. My heater core in my last Toyota was corroded so air always was trapped in it. Never did get it all out and just got used to the "swish" sound every time I turned on the heater.

Great advice. Thank you. I actually tried to bleed the system on lunch yesterday.. coincidentally the coolant level was REALLY low. I recently did a timing belt and water pump replacement and from what I can tell, no leaks anywhere. I kept the engine running, but with the heat at medium.. so I'll try the hill technique with the heat on full blast and see what happens. Still sounds like I got something in there.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Great advice. Thank you. I actually tried to bleed the system on lunch yesterday.. coincidentally the coolant level was REALLY low. I recently did a timing belt and water pump replacement and from what I can tell, no leaks anywhere. I kept the engine running, but with the heat at medium.. so I'll try the hill technique with the heat on full blast and see what happens. Still sounds like I got something in there.

Hmm, you might have just had air in the system after you filled it up after the repairs that's causing the level to drop. Make sure the reservoir is also filled to the correct level. Your coolant will expand/contract with the temperature so keeping the reservoir filled correctly helps keep air out as well. As long as there's air trapped in there you'll be getting the "swish" sound when you turn on the heater.

If you fill it up and a while later it's still dropping, start searching! Most common leaks are the radiator hoses but worse case scenarios are you heater core is leaking in the cabin, or it's leaking into your transmission. Might want to take a peek at your transmission fluid via the dipstick juuuust in case.

 

[OldManKamps]

Hmm, you might have just had air in the system after you filled it up after the repairs that's causing the level to drop. Make sure the reservoir is also filled to the correct level. Your coolant will expand/contract with the temperature so keeping the reservoir filled correctly helps keep air out as well. As long as there's air trapped in there you'll be getting the "swish" sound when you turn on the heater.

If you fill it up and a while later it's still dropping, start searching! Most common leaks are the radiator hoses but worse case scenarios are you heater core is leaking in the cabin, or it's leaking into your transmission. Might want to take a peek at your transmission fluid via the dipstick juuuust in case.

Okay question, the PO of my truck bypassed the rear heater lines and today I just patched em up and joined back into the system. Obviously the lines we're empty and full of air when I joined them to the rest of the system. I assumed the air would blow out in the reservoir. Is this the case? Did i create a problem?

 

[gamefreakgc]

Okay question, the PO of my truck bypassed the rear heater lines and today I just patched em up and joined back into the system. Obviously the lines we're empty and full of air when I joined them to the rest of the system. I assumed the air would blow out in the reservoir. Is this the case? Did i create a problem?

No it won't expel the air however it should naturally just collect in the top of the radiator. You'll need to add more coolant to fill to top it off to remove the air completely.

Air bubbles in the system don't hurt anything though, they are just annoying. Every once it a while one will settle on the temp sensor and mess up the readings but other than that it's not going to affect anything. Very low coolant will though.